Vehicle.



G. W. BULLEY.

VEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED rs.21. 19|7.

1,254,979. Patented Jan. 29, 191&

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

Mm %%W G. w. BULLEY.

VEHICLE. 1P5979 VAPPLICATION FILED FEB. 21. 1911. Patented Jan. 29,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

GEORGE w. ,LBULLEY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR; TO MERCURY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINo s, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

' VEHICLE.

' :Toi'all 'wli om z't concern:-

' Bait-known that I, GEORGE BoIaJEY,

. a citizen ofjthe' United-Statesfof America, and resident of Chicago, Cook county, Illi nois,--have invented a certain new and useful- 7 Improvement in Vehiclespof which the following-is'a specification.. My invention relatesfto improvements in vehicles for carrying or transporting lumber and like materiahmore especially about lum ber yards,d'ocks,"warehouses, freight platforms and the like, and my object is to provide a power propelledvehicle for this purpose which will be simple, durable and reliable in construction and effective and efli-.

cient in operation.

Other objects of my invention will ap pear hereinafter.

My invention consists in the 'featuresof novelty exemplified by the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly set forth in:

the a pended claims. I

Re erring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is an assembled view in side elevation of a complete vehicle or carrierstrucand like material is loaded onto and unture embodying my invention. I

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof showing the structure in the act of turning a curve;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of'the' articulated trailer.

Fig. 4: is an enlarged side elevation partly in section on the line i4 of Fig. 3. v

Fig. 5'is an enlarged detail section on the line '55 of Fig. 4. v

It is the general practice, where lumber lumber is piled or stacked on these frames with the axle about midway of the length of the load so that the weight of the load on each side of the axle is practically balanced. These bunkers with their loads are then pulled around either manually by the workmen or by means of two wheeled vehicles drawnby horses. It is my purpose, to

propel the loads from place to place by I Specification of Letters Patent. v Patented J an. Application filed February 21,1917. serial at. 150,080.

propelling vehicle.

power land to provide at system whereby the men-s timeand energy will be- I utilized merely for the urpose of loading 7 1 and unloading 'thebull ers and in conse:

quence the number of men reduced and. the

in considerablyless time. However, in.a"c-' coniplishing these resu'lts'I utilize the usual or standard bunkers and merely add fogthe equipment the initial cost andthe lowma'i'nf tenance of a power LIII ltffQI propulsion-par,

poses.

'A lumber bunker, 'such -a s'l haveiljust re. ferred to, is=illustiatedin F igs. :1 and 2.)It comprises a pairj-oflarge. diameter jwheels, A spaced apart and;mountedltoirotate inde pendently on] the 'transv,erse iiiX lBl Bl: "This. y axle carries a :flat'rectangularf frame or platform B1 oniwhich'thelumberl .is;loaded, site-*- &

load which; I have illustratedms )ile; of.

the other, isv ositioned on 'th-isfbunlieif} nam lied upon tomaintain the. load in proper position. The pile of lumber'is usually al- 1 most'balanced on; the axle so'as not to impose too great a weightupon the men handling' =it.1 As illustrated in the drawings, there" is, however, a slight preponderance off-weight on one side of the axlethat is,-

- on the forwardSide nearest the tractor or The power vehicle D,

which I have illustrated, is an electrically driven tractor of the non-load carrying type such as embraced within the subject matter of U. S. Letters Patent Number 1,217,702,

issued Feb. 27, 1917, but any other type of vehicle for carrying out the rinciples and functions of my invention maybe used. This tractor is preferable because it is small and compact, has an extremely short turning radius and is particularly designed and adapted forindustrial haulage about platforms and he like. In general this tractor has a horizontal frame E supported by two rear wheels E and two front steering wheels E A storage battery and housing E therefor is mounted on the rear of the frame so as -to impose its weight upon the rear wheels for tractive purposes. A driving motor E is suspended beneath the frame and connected to the rear wheels in driving relation. The Operator. has a seat E from which to steer vand control the tractor. On the r-ear end of ,glumber boards Cllaidl'engthwis "one .113

60 size .of the loadsincreased land transferredv the tractor I provide a trailer or carrier which involves a frame F, a supporting caster wheel G, and a load supporting member H. The frame is normally substantially horizontally disposed in substantially the plane of the tractor frame, although it is pivoted on the tractor frame to move or articulate in a vertical plane to adapt the structure to irregularities in the road. The frame is substantially triangular or V- shaped and the ends of its legs have bearings which pivot on studs F which project laterally from lugs or brackets F bolted on the rear end of the tractor frame; hence the tractor may be readily detached if desired. The caster supporting wheel is located beneath the rear end of the trailer frame and is rotatable about a vertical pivot or center so that it will adapt itself to any line or direction of movement which the structure takes. This caster is rotatable in a fork G which has an extension G journaled in a bearing in a casting member G this casting being located in the apex of the triangular frame F and preferably welded to said frame. The loadsupporting and draft member H is positioned above the trailer frame and is arranged in substantially the same plane as the frame of the lumber bunker. This member is preferably formed of a channel bar for strength and in the groove thereof is fastened a bar H of wood. This member is substantially as 'long as the width of the tractor frame. A bolt H is fastened in along bearing in the casting G and has a hemispherical head H at its upper end. This head is positioned in a cut-out H inthe wooden bar H but is held in position by the smaller hole in the channel. joint which permits the-bar to rock freely vertically and pivot horizontally to accommodate the torsional movements to which the entire structure is subjected due to irregularities in the road. "A indicated in the drawings the end portion of the load of lumber is rested on the load member H, be ing spaced from the end of the tractor sufliciently to prevent its interference with the turningof the train. The draft connection between the bunker and the hauling unit is thus obtained directly through the load. The weight of lumber on the load member may be relied upon to develop suflicient friction to draw the load; it is preferable to fasten the lumber to the member H. This may be readily and conveniently done by passing a chain H around the end of the pile of lumber and fastening it to the load member H. For this purpose the load membe H has two convenient loop members H This construction forms a. universal mea re extending rearwardly at its ends and through which the holding chains may be fastened. It is thus seen that the entire equipment utilizes the standard bunker without alteration in any respect, that the trailer, although connected to the tractor, is completely articulated in every respect not only as to its own parts but also as to its relation to the tractor, and serves as an intermediate supporting and carrying vehicle between the load and the hauling unit.

I claim:

1. The combination of a lumber bunker, a power propelled tractor, an intermediate trailer connected to said tractor and having means for supporting one end of the load on the bunker.-'

2. The combination of a loaded lumber bunker comprising a pair of wheels, an axle therefor'and a load of lumber substantially balanced thereon, va power propelled tractor, a trailer connected with the tractor and having means for supporting one end of and connected with the load on the bunker.

3. The combination of a lumber bunker,

a power propelled tractor, a trailer pivotally connected with the rear end of the tractor and having an independent wheel support, and a load supporting member on said trailer for supporting one end of the load arried by the bunker.

The combination of a power propelled tractor and a trailer articulated with respect to the tractor and embodying a frame pivotally conn cted to the frame of the tractor and having supporting caster wheel and a pivotally Di int-d load supporting member carried by said 1 me.

5. The combina ion of a lumber bunker,

a power propelle; tractor, a trailer articu-.

lated with said tractor and having independent wheel supporting means, and a load supporting member carried by said trailer upon which one end of the load carried by the bunker is supported.

6. The combination of. a power tractor, a

eEondF. W. BULLEY. 

